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Thursday, January 23, 2020

Gods of Merlin by Priya Ardis - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hey, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Priya Ardis and her new book, “Gods of Merlin”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card OR an autographed copy of the featured book!!  That’s right – there will be TWO lucky winners!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Priya and to increase your chances of winning!  See below for more details.

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Please note that the giveaway prize of the autographed copy of the featured book is only available to US residents.  Sorry INTL – but you are still qualified to win the $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card.


Gods of Merlin
by Priya Ardis

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GENRE: YA Fantasy Paranormal

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BLURB:

GREAT GREEK GODS. THEY ARE COMING.

Foster kid and occasional shoplifter Eowlyn Patience just wants to fit into her Boston high school. When the Sword In The Stone falls out of the sky like a meteor into the middle of London’s Trafalgar Square, everything changes. Then, an enigmatic golden-eyed man arranges for her to attend a school for the gifted in England, and the irritatingly perfect Matt Emrys from science class turns out to be Merlin—the Merlin, King Arthur’s greatest wizard.

Frozen in a cave for fifteen hundred years, Merlin has woken to find the next Arthur. Eowlyn Patience’s mysterious admittance to Avalon Preparatory was not something he foresaw…a disturbing aberration when his most powerful gift happens to be visions of the future.

The race to find the rightful heir rages between deadly gargoyles, wizards, and Regulars, but figuring out the troubled Eowlyn might be by-the-book Merlin’s hardest job yet. She’s altogether the wrong girl. Torn between what is right and what saves lives, will Eowlyn do what it takes to win—even if it means sacrificing Merlin to a god?

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EXCERPT THREE:

A gorgeous underwear-model of a man in a black suit cleaned his sword with a tissue. He threw the bloodied rag on top of the half-man, half-beast. I tensed as he reached inside his coat pocket, but he only took out a clipboard and black sunglasses. He put the sunglasses on. “Eowlyn Patience?”

A little dumbstruck, I nodded at the beautiful killer with blood on his face.

“Pretty name.” He smiled wistfully. “I once knew an Eowlyn.”

The comment knocked me out of my trance. “No one has ever heard of the name Eowlyn.”

He shrugged. “Surprise. Now, you have met me.”

I put my hands on my hips. “What do you want?”

He gave me an amused smile. “I will be your driver today. Don’t forget to grab your bags. We should leave now before you have any more visitors.”

I pointed to the corpse on the floor. “I am not going anywhere with you, serial killer.”

“Is that so? Let me be clear—I just saved your life. More hunters will be coming.” Black-Suit tucked a pencil behind his ear and the clipboard under his elbow. He stepped to the side and pointed at an idling black luxury sedan. “I’ll be waiting in the car. For when you change your mind.”

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MY BOOK REVIEW:


This book was an exciting, intriguing, adventurous read filled with magical, mystical, and paranormal elements!!

I really enjoyed that this book was a modern day follow up to the classic Sword and the Stone fairy-tales and mythologies that many of us have grown up with.

I liked that Miss Ardis made sure all the lore love was ever so present front and center as she made sure King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Lady of the Lake, Excalibur, and Camelot were all included and incorporated into the modernization story line.

I love when authors can pull a time-honored story and put a decent spin on it that allows the reader to reconnect with a favorite pastime read and build on to the story with a fascinating, but fitting story line that even the original authors would approve of.  I’d like to say for the most part this book does just that.

I liked Eowlyn (pronounced A-O-Lin) and I definitely felt for her character arc.  As she struggled through so many hardships such as being a foster kid; it was hard to not want success and positive opportunities for her.  I liked her strength, determination, tenacity, compassion, and stubbornness.

I enjoyed all the crafty, (some of them) evil and creepy, and intriguing characters and creatures that were featured such as the gargoyles, shadow dragons, wizard candidates, and wizard guardians.  I have always been curious, but also fearful of gargoyles so it was interesting to have them be a top antagonist and a main rival of securing the sword.  However, I did enjoy learning more about them and their mythology.

I liked the training school angle at the Avalon Preparatory Academy that focused on teaching the students regular and irregular magic and preparing them for battle.  However, it was very similar to the Hogwarts set up in the Harry Potter Book Series.  Still it was enjoyable and entertaining but felt very familiar.

I enjoyed the race to find the successor of the sword and it was interesting to see so many characters come out of the woodwork trying to prove their powers, virtue, and claim as the champion and rightful heir of Excalibur, the one and true ruler of Camelot.

Miss Ardis did an excellent job of world-building and keeping up with the complexities and details of a fantasy, paranormal story.  I felt the author did a skillful job at making sure all her bases were covered and that everything seemed to sync up.  Although this was a fantasy, paranormal-based genre filled with magical and mystical influences, for every out-there scenario the author seemed to have a way to explain her reasoning, how it was possible, or how it came about.

I also would like to point out that I think the author did a fantastic job with the historical content and authenticity of the Arthurian Legend.  It was very clear she was well-versed on the tales and myths and used that knowledge to really bring the story to life.

There are some predictable scenes.  However, there are still a few very unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!

This book has a creative modern story line spin, excellent writing style with vivid and detailed scenes, intriguing characters and creatures, is steady paced, and keeps you entertained.

This book is not part of a book series at this time and therefore, can be read as a standalone.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!  I think all young adult, fantasy, and paranormal readers will like this book too!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RDKWG43CGVG6Q

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AUTHOR BIO:


Priya Ardis loves books of all kinds--but especially the ones which make your nose leak and let your chai go cold. Her novels come from a childhood of playing too much She-Ra and watching too much Spock. Her bestselling series, My Boyfriend Merlin, about Merlin going to high school is a YA contemporary fantasy and romance for those like road trips, wizards, Greek gods, and gender-bent quests.

Talk to me!  Connect with me at the links below!

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CONNECT WITH PRIYA:

Website:

Blog:

Email:
contact@priyaardis.com

Facebook:

Twitter:

Pinterest:

Instagram:

YouTube:

BookBub Author Page:

BookBub Book Page #1:

BookBub Book Page #2:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

Kobo eBook:

Apple iBook eBook:

Google Play eBook:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Priya will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner, and an autographed copy of the book (US only) to a second winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

10 comments:

  1. Priya ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is so great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)

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  2. Another great book to discover. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

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  3. Thank you, Ally! I'm so thrilled you like Gods of Merlin and thank you for getting the word out!

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  4. Would you ever like to see your book turned into a movie?

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